US stocks on Thursday closed lower after the European Central Bank kept key interest rates steady but disappointed some by not announcing additional measures to boost Europe’s sluggish economy. South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.5 percent to 2,037.87 after North Korea conducted a nuclear test, rattling nerves across the region.
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BAD OUTLOOK: Tractor Supply slumped 15.6 percent after the farm equipment retailer said its business is being hurt by cuts in oil, gas and coal production, declining outlays by farmers and weak spending on wood stoves and heating fuel for this fall and winter.
Oil prices pulled back after surging more than 4 per cent on Thursday to two-week highs on a slump in US Gulf Coast imports to a record low led to a surprisingly large drawdown in US crude stocks.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.(HPE) shares dropped 3.2% after the company late Wednesday said it had agreed an $8.8 billion deal with (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hewlett-packard-enterprise-to-merge-software-spinoff-with-micro-focus-2016-09-07) Micro Focus International PLC (MCRO.LN).
EURO SOLID: Europe’s single currency maintained its firm tone after the decision, trading 0.5 percent higher at a two-week high of $1.13. Diamond Offshore Drilling gained 83 cents, or 5.2 percent, to $16.78.
German exports fell sharply in July, shrinking the overall trade surplus for the fourth consecutive month – something not seen since 1992 – and putting the continent’s benchmark stock index on course for its first weekly fall in three.
The ECB could also deviate from the so-called capital key, in effect buying more from highly indebted nations such as Italy – though Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has already warned against the risk of blurring the line between monetary and fiscal policy. Brent crude, used to price global oils, lost 67 cents to $49.32 in London.
The U.S. government said on August 29 that 11.5 percent of Gulf of Mexico output was shut in as a precautionary measure. Overall, the FTSE 100 was flat, but it outperformed Europen shares, thanks in part to the sterling’s weakness and the way that British companies are not as directly exposed to the European Central Bank.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.4 per cent to the highest level since Aug 2015.
METALS: Among metals, gold slid $7.60 to $1,341.60 an ounce, while silver fell 17 cents to $19.68 an ounce.
Japan’s Topix index slid 0.3 per cent as the yen added 0.4 per cent against the United States dollar on Friday.
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“While the European Central Bank disappointed, we could still expect additional stimulus later in the year as there’s so much uncertainty in Europe”, James Woods, a strategist at Rivkin Securities in Sydney, said by phone. The euro strengthened to $1.1274 from $1.1245.
